Russia has approved clinical trials to test the combination of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine with the country’s own Sputnik V vaccine, according to Russia’s state drug register. 

Russia becomes the fifth country after Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, and Argentina to approve such a trial.

An ethical committee of the country’s health ministry had suspended the approval process for the clinical trials in May and requested additional information.

Five Russian clinics will hold trials that are slated to finish in early March next year, Reuters reported quoting Russia’s state drug register.

Both the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V COVID vaccines are similar in the way that they both involve two doses – an initial shot and a booster – but Sputnik V uses different viral vectors for its two shots.

The viral vector vaccines use harmless modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the promoter of the Sputnik V vaccine, has welcomed the decision to hold such trials.

“Currently, RDIF is conducting joint clinical trials to combine the first component of Sputnik V – the Sputnik Light vaccine – with vaccines from other foreign manufacturers,” Reuters quoted from a statement by RDIF.

“In particular, the Sputnik Light vaccine can be used in combination with other vaccines to increase their effectiveness including against new variants appearing as a result of the mutation of the virus,” the statement added.